Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Claremont

We were excited about the opening of chipotle. We waited three weeks for things to settle before visiting and wished we had waited three years. Food preparation was a mess. The tacos for the tortilla were cold! Same goes for the burrito. This is something I have never ever experienced before. This joint was out of quesio (cheese) and they were out of guacamole!

It was a Friday night at around 5:30 and very busy, but obviously they were not prepared at all… shouldn’t have opened! A sign read that the restaurant could not accept cash unless it was the exact amount, but they could accept credit cards. When we attempted to pay with the exact amount of cash, the cashier informed us that they couldn’t accept that either.

This was a very disappointing experience as other Chipotles where we’ve eaten were pretty pleasant. To say something positive, the pico de gallo (salsa) was very fresh and flavorful.

Honestly, the only reason I can imagine for the inability to accept cash is that management does not trust their own employees. I asked one of the employees a number of times why they didn’t accept cash he said something about not having that much money on hand. You’ve got to be kidding me!

The other issue which I believe is management’s fault is that the workers didn’t know what they were doing. Clearly they hadn’t been properly trained or trained sufficiently. This falls on the managemen.

So the prices are OK but not for what we got. I ended throwing out part of my burrito, which (if you knew me) is a shocking turn of events. My wife. (who never comments about things.) commented on her cold raw tortilla. Another shocking IMO. Perhaps we will give this another try in a year, perhaps. If this is a franchise, the owner should be ashamed and if this is corporate owned property, it is 100%...

This has been the only location I've tried. So I'm going off of that. Although multiple people have told me that other locations are much better. I have been a total of 3 times, and will not be back.

The first time I went was about 3 weeks after they opened. I got a barbacoa burrito bowl. I waited for an hour and 15 minutes for it. It was surprisingly almost completely dead there, which was a red flag considering it was brand new still. I drove home to find out that the order was wrong and underwhelming.

Second time, I got a barbacoa quesadilla. The quesadillas come with 3 sides. 2/3 were missing, and the only one they provided was the corn salsa, which was close to frozen. The entire second half of my quesadilla was soaked in grease at the bottom. The person with me got a hot honey chicken burrito, the chicken had that "woody breast" texture 🤢 and didn't taste like hot honey; I usually love hot honey.

Yesterday, I got a steak burrito bowl. (Pictured) There wasn't enough rice to cover the bottom of the bowl, the guacamole was completely brown (oxidized), some of the lettuce was wilted, and the steak was very fatty/gristly/chewy. I was thoroughly disappointed.

This place isn't cheap, as I can go to a local steakhouse or authentic Mexican restaurant for $5 more. Even Moe's is a clear winner here!

The only reason why they got 2 stars from me instead of 1, is because when they first opened, they donated a ton of food to the local soup kitchen...

This was my first time eating at this location. After eating at many others, I can confidently say that this was by far the worst. Upon entering there was one staff member working up front, who when making my food, gave me measly portions, far less than half of what I’ve ever experienced at any other chipotle. In addition to this, I ordered steak, and as he scraped out the 5 or 6 few dry crumbs from the container, he said, “sorry, I thought there was gonna be enough, is that fine?” We asked if there was any more cooked steak in house and after walking out back for a couple seconds, he said no. Once we realized he was actually planning to move on to the next toppings without more than a few scraps of meat I had to ask him to complete the remainder of the meager meat portion with chicken. He put a few pieces on top and moved on. This was the smallest burrito I’ve ever seen from a Chipotle let alone had to eat. The second person in my party had someone different come to make her food, a salad, and the portions were appropriate but she didn’t get the dressing.

I waited a couple of months after opening to visit because I saw the terrible reviews and thought I’d give them time to work things out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough time. I don’t know that...